The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-03-24

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roads to ell the whole valley, and over
flow the banks of my bitches and the
obacco. Five hundred plants or upwards
were washed up by the roots and carried
off. A part we're covered with sand,
and of the balance every bit of the loose
dilt was washed out of every single row,
and the tobacco was left standing on
narrow ridge, with the roots exposed to
the sun. When the sun came out hot
the tobacco wilted-the leaves falling
down beside the stalks. As soon as it
was dry enough I had it ploughed and
hoed, and the plants all Strengthened up.
I succeedrd in getting pretty good bed
to the plants again, and if it had con.
tinued seasonable it would have taken
second growth, and made some pretty
!; good tobacco little late; but there was
not enough rain on the patch after that
( to put ont the hoe tracks in the bitches
made :on the 18th July until the last
stalk was cut. The leaves rose up in
about ten days after plowing, but the
plants never grew any more. The top
leaves Of the plants that were topped
shortly after the storm never grew any
longer than they were when topped,
which Was from three to four inches.
while the bottom leaves were two feet
. and upwards.
Tobacco should be ripe and ready to
cut in four or FIVE weeks after topping,
but mine never gos ripe at all. let it
stand twelve to fourteen weeks, and cut
it then, on account of frost, about the
middle Of October.
From this account It is apparent that
there could have been no good tobacco
made on my acre; for tobacco is like q
fturnip or watermelon, it can never make
& good article iii receives a check in its
growth, OF suffers from innutrition from
any cause, whether it be drouth, too
much rain, or want Of work.
I had made arrangements to build q
barn and furnaces to cure my crop, but
when the disaster of the 18th July came
on, knowing that it could never, by any
chance, make merchsntable article, l
gave ont building the barn. ! simply
cut and hung it on scafolds. It made q
sorry article of smoking tobacco. I
have never asked more than s cents for
it.
I Ihad another small patch on which |
made some tolerably good tobacco. The
summer was not warm enough and the
nights were too cold to make first quality,
sun cured tobacco. It was the only sum-
mer / have ever known in which there
Was not some weather between the mid.
die Of July. and August hot enough to
cure q crop of tobacco that vas set out
In May.
To make first quality, yellow sun.cnred
tobacco requires a heat of 90 degrees or
upwards, day and night, for two to three
days, and hot and dry for q week or two
after. Whenever the mercury falls be-
low IS degrees it stops the coloring pro-
cess, and the colder the nights the worse
HHef
the tobacco. Now, last summer the
Thermometer ranged below rs degrees
every night, and frequently down to 60
degrees.
The weather was 80 dry in the fall
that / could not strip stalk until 1 had
cured it all. The only good tobacco !
made was cured in August, and being too
dry to strip I piled down on floor, and
kept piling on the same pile until it was
|. all cured. / did not strip any until
November, whsE there came few days
r4esff damp weather, and | stripped about
200 pounds before it got out of case.
About the LIST of December I got notice
to send on my sample. I was in guam
dary. The only good tobacco I made
was al the bottom of my pile, not
stripped, and was SO dry that it could not
be handled. The only tobacco that
had stripped was the last cut, and the
sorriesi: that made. But thinking that
if my sample did not get to Columbia
while the Legislature was in session ]
might lose my money, I weighed out ten
pounds of what / had stripped, and after
I had packed it in box WAS ashamed
to send it, and hesitated o day or two
it looked so outrageously sorry. But ]
happened to think Of sample of Vir-
ginia sun. cured tobacco that had, and
got tout. I also got some of my own
tobacco about the same color, raised
several years ago, and tearing the bands
off of all of it mixed the leaves togeth-
er, and tied it up in large buDches with
cotton strings, and put it in the box, afler
marking it rs or 80 cents-the price of
the virginis tobacco. Mr.. Pace pro.
nounced It all dear ats cents. Now, if
he had been as good q judge of sun cured
as he was of furnace.cured tobacco, he
ought to have picked out those Virginia
leaves. The fact is, be ignored every.
thing except furnace. cured, yellow wrap
pers. sun-cured tobacco is generally
darker than furnace-cured, but it is
altogether better favored, and always
brings the highest prices in Virginia for
filters, Mr.. Pace to the contrary notwith.
standing. With temperature of 9O0 to
1902 it can he made as bright and yellow
as furnace.cured, and I was told by a
manufacturer several years ago that it
was the only kind Of tobacco that they
evermauufactnred without adding foreign
aavoring. The only objection to sum
cured is that man can cure only very
small quantity of it first.class. 1t re.
quires very close attention and delicate